Samsung just became the leading mobile phone handsets shipper in the world, dethroning Finnish phone-maker Nokia from its fourteen-year-long run as the invincible ruler in the cellphone market. Apple holds the third place in the smartphone shipping category.

While Samsung's win can be seen as a result of determination and hard work, stagnation, mismanagement or denial to change could be the reason why Nokia and Apple lost the battle against the Korean tech giant.

Samsung, however, remained in the second place in the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, behind Apple. In the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, Apple shipped 35 million units in the first quarter while Samsung shipped 32 million smartphones.

According to Reuters, Samsung sold 44 million smartphones for the quarter, roughly 25 percent more than Apple's 35.1 million iPhones for the quarter.

Why is Samsung the Winner?

We do not know for sure whether Samsung is the real winner, as unlike Apple that has clearly stated its smartphone sales figures, Samsung continues to hide the exact numbers revealing only shipment numbers.

Moreover, the world's larger smartphone shipper hasn't provided any hard sales figures in a long time, so all the sales figures are mainly based on vague hints to the estimates made by analysts, which in turn are based on unclear indications from previous quarters. Therefore, as we compare Apple's sales figures with Samsung's shipment numbers, we end up comparing apples to oranges.

But if we really dig a little more into Apple's loss this time, the major reason would be its sluggish and perhaps conservative attitude toward change.

While the Cupertino-based tech company refuses to incorporate larger AMOLED displays, Samsung has increased its screen size with almost all phones (Note 5.3-inches, Galaxy S3 4.8-inches presumably, much bigger than its predecessor). This visual differentiation might the edge that the Korean company has over the Cupertino one.

Apple also lags far behind Samsung when it comes to aggressive marketing of smartphones. Even in its Galaxy S3 teaser, Samsung mocks other smartphone makers calling them sheep. Very non-classy, but helped grab more attention from the buyers!

But let's attribute some credit to the Korean company, which has shown some desperate attempts at improvement in the last few years.

According to Wayne Lam, senior analyst, wireless communications at IHS With cellphones now accounting for more than 40 percent of Samsung's overall revenue, it's clear that the company's continued investments in smartphone hardware and software R&D are paying off.

Galaxy S3: How will Samsung play the next smartphone as its best bet?

After the Note's overwhelming success, it's expected that the Korean electronics giant will try to create the same magic with its new Galaxy S phone.

The company made claims to have sold 5 million Galaxy Note units globally in just five months after its launch in October.

Samsung's latest Galaxy S3 handset will hit markets in May. Therefore, a strong sale figure is indicated in the coming quarters in 2012 for the company.

Meanwhile, Apple is also planning to launch its next generation iPhone very shortly. The iPhone 5 (popularly known as) is also expected to come with some revolutionary features like unibody design, Retina display with 16:9 Aspect Ratio, 1GB RAM, iOS 6 operating system, 3D GUI, 3D camera, NFC feature and iWallet app. But most importantly, this time Apple is expected to provide a bigger 4-inch screen with its iPhone.

While Samsung will have the advantages of being the first mover with the launch of the Galaxy S3 in May, once Apple launches its iPhone in June/October, will it still rule the smartphone market?

What do you think? Who stands a better chance, the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3? Scribble your thoughts in the comments section.